The Socialist Sunday School movement began in Glasgow in 1896 and remained in existence for more than 60 years.

Bolton Socialist Sunday School was started at 16 Wood Street soon after the Socialist Club moved here.

Meetings included hymns with words by socialists such as Edward Carpenter, William Morris, and, Bolton writer, Allen Clarke - 'we seemed forever to be marching somewhere, even if we often failed to reach the destination' (Alice Foley; A Bolton Childhood).

The children also learned to recite the Socialist Ten Commandments

England Arise, the long, long night is over,Faint in the east behold the dawn appears;Out of your evil dream of toil and sorrowArise, O England, for the day is here.Edward Carpenter

The pre-World War I period saw an explosion of socialist activism throughout the country and Keir HardyBolton's Socialist Party was involved, particularly in organising & publicising very popular large public meetings.

The biggest halls in town were hired for public meetings - the Temperance Hall Ben Tillett(which held 2,000 people), the Hippodrome Theatre, the Cooperative Hall and the Theatre Royal.

Thousands of song sheets were printed, the Clarion choir performed, 'Red Flag Toffee' and 'Marseillaise Cocoa' were sold, and huge posters were put up around town to advertise celebrity speakers like Keir Hardie, Victor Grayson, Ben Tillett and James Connolly.

James ConnellyFrom a meeting addressed by Tom Mann in 1912 the Club managed to make a profit of 11 Pounds 3 Shillings and 11 Pence from tickets sold at 3d and 6d each.

Central to all the activities at the Club at this time was the women's Annie Kennysuffrage campaign.

Women like Sarah Reddish, Cissy Foley and Alice Collinge campaigned tirelessly and although divisions between militant 'suffragettes' and law-abiding 'suffragists' became more marked after 1905, allegiances in the club seem to have been fairly fluid.

Sarah Reddish and others saw themselves as Emmeline Pankhurstradical suffragists but they invited Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst to speak at the club in August 1906 and even as late as 1911, when the militant campaign was at its height, suffragette Annie Kenny was welcomed here and spoke to an audience of women members.